A seal may be used for verification by a first person that a container in the possession of a second person has not been opened. The seal is typically a device that will be destroyed if the container is opened, and which has unique characteristics to deter the second person from opening the container and subsequently replacing the original seal with an identical copy.
Several patents are noted as examples of the technology in this field, and for their discussions of the background art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,923 of Meisterling shows an acoustic transducer incorporated into a fastener. U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,771 of Ceney describes a fastener system that senses the strain on a bolt by measuring the variation in length of the bolt. U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,048 of d""Agraives et al discloses a high-consequence seal/fastener having mechanical properties that cause a unique ultrasonic signature. And U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,563 of Kadner et al discloses an electronic seal designed to report tamper events.
It is an object of this invention to provide a seal/fastener that seals a container, stores information about the closures, and stores information about attempts to open the container.
It is another object of this invention to provide a seal/fastener that stores a coded identification to prevent substitution of an identical fastener.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects, and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention discloses a tamper-indicating fastener having a cylindrical body with threads extending from one end along a portion of the body, and a tamper indicating portion extending from an opposite end of said body. The tamper indicating portion includes a transducer for converting physical properties of the body into electronic data; electronics for recording electronic data; and means for communicating with a remote location.
Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following description or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.